Venus of Willendorf
Willendorf, Austria
22,000 BCE
Lion Human
Hohlenstein, Germany
32,000 BCE
Spotted Horses and Human Hands
Peche-Merle, Dordogne, France
25,000 BCE
Hall of Bulls
Lascaux cave, Dordogne, France
15,000 BCE
Bison
Tuc d' Audoubert, France
13,000 BCE
G�bekli Tepe
�rencik, Turkey
10,000 - 8,000 BCE
�atalh�y�k
Turkey
7400 - 6200 BCE
Stonehenge
Wiltshire, England
3000 - 1500 BCE
Standard of Ur
Ur, Iraq
2600 - 2400 BCE
Stele of Naram Sin
Susa, Iran
2254 - 2218 BCE
Nanna Ziggurat
Ur, Iraq
2100 - 2050 BCE
Head of Man (Akkadian Ruler)
Nineveh, Iraq
2300 - 2200 BCE
Votive statue of Gudea
Girsu, Iraq
2090 BCE
Cylinder Seal of the Queen of Puabi
Ur, Iraq
2600 - 2500 BCE
Stele of Hammurabi
Susa, Iran
1792 - 1750 BCE
Statue of the Storm God Baal
Minet el-Beidha, Iraq
1600 - 1200 BCE
Guardian Figures at the Gate of the Citadel of Sargon II
Dur Sharrukin, Iraq
721 - 706 BCE
Ishtar Gate
Babylon, Iraq
575 BCE
Skillset
to engage in the art historical task is to develop a skillset
this involves practices of looking, questioning, and appreciation
Five Purposes of Art
expression, persuasion, functionality, narration, and ceremony
Panofsky's Method
German art historian developed a three-step method for looking at art
First, pre-iconographical analysis (visual)
Second, iconographical analysis symbolic
Third, iconological description (interpretive)
description, identification, interpretation
Art Criticism
evaluating art for its aesthetic and cultural worth, rather than using it to tell history
Critical Theory
critical analysis approach
indicates a method of investigating history, culture, and society across multiple disciplines
Connoisseurship
identifying, evaluating, and appreciating the quality of works of art
Sociology
function of art in society
Anthropology
study of human beings and cultures
archaeology, physical anthropology, cultural anthropology
Cultural Studies
interdisciplinary academic discipline that uses critical theory to examine the forces from which the whole of humankind construct their daily lives
Aesthetics
branch of philosophical thought that is concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, especially in art
Canon
in Greek means "rule" or "measuring stick"
Art Historical Canon is a group of works considered to be fundamental to art history
Prehistory
time between written records
Stone Age
prehistoric period when stone implements were widely used
Paleolithic (old), Neolithic (new)
Writing
earliest writings found in ancient Mesopotamia 3200 BCE
Human History
Homo Sapiens migrated out of Africa between 120,000 and 50,000 years ago
Global History
very early art found worldwide
Neolithic
transition from people living as hunter-gatherers to the development of farming and the domestication of animals
Composition
the way in which an artist organizes forms in an artwork either by placing shapes on a flat surface or arranging forms in space
Lintel
horizontal beam used to span an opening
Mural
wall painting
Radiocarbon Dating
measuring the decay rate of carbon isotopes in organic matter to provide dates for organic materials
Sculpture in the Round
freestanding figures, three-dimensional
Bronze
alloy made from combining tin and copper
Henge
arrangement of megalithic stones in a circle, often surrounded by a ditch
Megalith
Greek for "great stone"
large, roughly hewn stone used in the construction of monumental prehistoric structures
Post-and-Lintel
system of construction in which two posts support a lintel
Relief Sculpture
figures projecting from a background of which they are part
designated high, low, or sunken
Ridgepole
upright timber at the apex of a roof that supports the upper ends of rafters
State + Religion
Ancient Near East brought about the birth of art in the service of the state and religion
combined with writing, Mesopotamian objects give the first systematic record of human development,
Mesopotamia
area between Tigris and Euphrates rivers
called the cradle of civilization because it is the first place where complex urban centers grew
Guardians
guardian figures that are usually hybrids of men and animals protected the entrances to important cites
Lands of the Old Testament
from Israel's captivity by the Assyrians in 722, to Judah's captivity in Babylon and eventual release
Architecture
ancient near east buildings were created for religion (ziggurats), or the state (palaces)
Narrative Works
through image, Assyrian artists told complex narrative tales
Cuneiform
latin for "wedge-shaped"
system of writing used in ancient Mesopotamia, in which wedge-shaped characters were produced by pressing a stylus into a soft clay tablet, which was then hardened
Ground Line
in paintings and reliefs, a baseline in which figures appear to stand
Pictograph
usually stylized picture that represents an idea
or paining on rock
Votive offering
gift of gratitude to a deity
Cylinder Seal
cylindrical piece of hard stone usually about an inch or so in height, decorated with an incised design, so that a raised pattern was left when the seal was rolled over soft clay
Hieratic Scale
artistic convention in which greater size indicates greater importance
Register
one of a series of superimposed bands or friezes in a pictorial narrative, or the particular levels on which motifs are placed
Ziggurat
ancient Mesopotamian architecture, a monumental platform for a temple